Taking Our Chance
by Doranya
Summary: Minerva and Albus are young during Harry's years at Hogwarts and are falling in love with each other without the other one knowing it. MMAD/ADMM story.
1. Author's Note

**IMPORTANT!**

Hello and welcome to my new story: _Taking Our Chance_

Here's a few things you need to know before reading.

Minerva McGonagall is 22 in this story, so she's quite young. Albus Dumbledore is 13 years older than her, which makes him 35. He's been teaching at Hogwarts for 11 years and has been the Headmaster for the past 5 years. So, Minerva entered her seventh year when Armando Dippet retired. Professor Dedworth was only teaching Transfiguration for a few years at Hogwarts, since Albus became the Headmaster, because he left his old job of teaching in America, to come here to be with his family.

Albus is young however he did defeat Gellert Grindewald in the past few years, they had that duel when they were 18 and than 3 years later Voldemort fell. And in the years since then he had found 12 uses of dragon blood. Even tho he's young, he's still the most powerful wizard since Merlin. He was 20 when Harry was born and in this story Lily and James, as well as their friends, are 2 years older than Dumbledore and he didn't teach them.

A bit complicated but please read the story.

Anya


	2. The New Professor

**So, here's the first chapter. In this one we follow the trio but from now on it'll be more Minerva and Albus. Enjoy.**

 **Chapter 1 - The New Professor**

A meeting was held at Number Twelve Grimmauld Place when Harry got there with the others. He wasn't allowed to join them so he spent the time with his friends.

When it was over Harry, Ron, Hermione, Fred, George and Ginny headed down into the kitchen and after greeting his godfather Harry went to help the others and Mrs Weasley.

During dinner Harry, Ron and Hermione noticed a witch they didn't know at the other end of the table talking to Mrs Weasley. She was in her early twenties. She was tall and wore a dark green dress that reached the point just below her knees and had long sleeves which were rolled up a bit. Her long black hair was in a bun and she was smiling and laughing with Mrs Weasley.

"Who is that?" asked Ron while looking at the witch.

"I don't know." said Hermione; she too was looking at the unfamiliar witch.

Harry looked from her to his friends and asked "So, you haven't seen her before?"

"No," told him Ron and started eating "But then again, not all members of the Order stay for dinner."

Hermione looked at him and suggested "You're right, maybe she came only for the meetings until now."

"Mawybe." said Ron, his mouth now full of food.

"Ew Ron," said Hermoine "Can't you chew and swallow before speaking?"

Ron just smiled at her and they continued with their dinner.

After everyone was finished and the dishes were done, the trio sat back down on the chairs at the table and started talking. Not long after, the black haired witch walked into the room and sat down on the other side with a small smile playing on her thin lips. She took a sip out of the mug in her hand and put it down on the table, now leaning forward to look at them.

"Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger." she said, her emerald green eyes darting from one to the other as she spoke "I don't suppose you remember me Ron." she was looking directly at him now.

Ron just looked at her confused and opened his mouth to answer but nothing came out.

"No?" asked the witch "No, I didn't think so, you were too young. Anyway...Hello, I'm Minerva McGonagall. I've heard a lot about you from Albus."

"Hello." greeted Hermione, putting out her hand for McGonagall to shake, which she did.

Harry and Ron both muttered a 'Hello.'

Seeing that they weren't going to ask Hermione continued "Albus as in Professor Dumbledore?"

McGonagall just nodded, looking from one to another.

"Professor Dumbledore talk about us?" asked Harry.

"Well, seeing that you three are somehow involved in pretty much everything that goes on in Hogwarts these days I don't see how wouldn't he." she said and took another sip of her tea before continuing "But it's great to see at least someone's keeping him on his toes. It's good for him."

Hermione asked "So, you're a member of the Order of the Phoenix, Miss McGonagall?"

The other woman nodded again and told her "I work as a covert operative inside the Ministry, just like Tonks and Kingsley."

"You work for the Ministry?" this was the first thing Ron asked her.

McGonagall looked at him now "Yes. I'm an auror." she told "Well, soon to be ex-auror. I'm staying 'till the 31st of August."

Before they could respond she glanced at the watch on her left wrist and looked a bit alarmed "Merlin!" she said "I ought to go or I'll be late." she stood up from her chair and started walking away "It was nice meeting you."

The black haired witch walked towards the door, her green heels clicking against the floor. She stopped just before the doorway and turned around "And don't worry about it Potter, it'll be okay, you did nothing wrong."

McGonagall gave them another one of her small smiles "I'll see you on the 1st of September." and with that she disappeared through the door.

A few weeks passed and soon they were all at the tables in the Great Hall at Hogwarts. The sorting and feast were over and Dumbledore stood up.

First he gave a few start-of-term notices. As he was speaking a woman figure walked in from the door behind the High Table that lead to the chamber of the Great Hall. She was wearing green robes and her black hair in a bun.

The woman walked quietly with her head down as she looked at the piece of parchment in her hands. She sat down and finally looked up.

"It's her!" whispered Hermione "It's Miss McGonagall!"

"We have three changes in staffing this year. Firstly we are welcoming back Professor Grubbly-Plank, who will be taking Care of Magical Creatures lessons; secondly we are delighted to introduce Professor Umbridge, our new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher and-"

Umbridge interrupted Dumbledore's speech with a ' _Hem, hem_ '. Professor Dumbledore sat down and she stood up, starting with a speech of her own.

Minerva looked down at the parchment in her hands and looked back up to Umbridge only a few times through the speech.

After the woman in the pink dress sat down, Dombledore stood back up and continued "Thank you Professor Umbridge. As I was saying. We also have a third change this year and that is Professor McGonagall, who some of the older students might even remember from her school years here." the Headmaster looked at the young witch sitting on the chair next to his, blue eyes twinkling "She will be replacing Professor Dedworth as the Transfiguration teacher, since he retired at the end of last year."

After that there was a small applause for the three new teachers and Dumbkedore carried on with his anointments.

Soon the speech was over and the students were all heading over to their dormitories. Harry, Ron and Hermione walked a bit behind, discussing their new Transfiguration teacher.

"How old do you think she is?" asked Harry.

"She went to Hogwarts only a few years ago, she can't be more than 22 or 23." said Hermione.

"She's 22." said a voice. Fred and George walked up to them and Fred continued "You lot started the year after she graduated."

The five teens reached the stairs and they began to go up.

"Yeah," said George, looking at his twin and then back at the three "I remember her. Head Girl and all. Quite smart too."

Fred continued "True. Took nine N.E.W.T.'s and got 'Outstanding' in all of them."

"ALL of them?" asked Hermione, getting paler and paler by second.

"Mhm." confirmed George " _And_ she became an Animagus in her seventh year. Dumbledore himself thought her, she was under his guidance."

"Youngest Animagus in the past century if not more." told Fred "Uuu! She was excellent at Quidditch too! Captain and everything."

They got to the portrait of the Fat Lady and stopped, waiting for everyone before them to pass through. Just as they got to the common room one of the twins stopped the other, causing Harry, Ron and Hermione to stop too, looking at them.

"But Fred," said George again »Remember that nasty fall she took during her last match?"

Fred looked from George to the three fifth years and said "Yeah, she was knocked off of her broom by some Slytherin."

"It left her with several broken ribs and a concussion." finished George and they sped up to the boy's dormitory.

Hermione sighed "I give up. Nine Outstanding's, Animagus training AND Quidditch? I could never do all that." she said.

"Of course you could." said Harry "Anyway, I'm tired and I'm going to sleep." with that the trio parted and they all went to sleep.

Minerva knocked on the door. She could hear a deep voice call 'Come in!' and she entered. The office was just like she remembered it.

Albus turned around and a smile appeared on his face as he saw the new Transfiguration mistress "Ah, Minerva. Hello."

"Hello." she said and petted Fawkes who sang happily as he saw her. Than she waked towards the desk on the other end of the room, smiling.

"Please sit." Albus said, making a gesture with his hand and then sitting down himself "How have you been?"

Minerva smiled at the auburn haired wizard "Good. But now it's even better. I'm so happy to be back, it's just like I remember it."

"That's great to hear. We're more than happy to have you back. You'll do great." he told her, his blue eyes twinkling more than ever. She looked beautiful in green. It brought out her eyes and as much as he tried he couldn't stop looking at her.

Minerva bit her lower lip "You really think so?" she asked, her cheeks getting a little more pink than usual.

"Of course! You could've thought when you were a student." he told her and she laughed. It was like music to his ears.

Albus continued "But I do think it would be time for some good night rest. For all of us. It has been a long day."

She smiled and said "You're right."

The Headmaster stood up and walked around the desk and offered her his hand. She took it and stood up. Together they walked towards the door, she was blushing at his gentlemanly gesture and his eyes were talking in all of her that they could.

"Goodnight Minerva." he said, taking her hand again and brushing his lips over her knuckles.

She brushed even more "Goodnight Albus." and with that she walked out of his office, towards her own chambers.

Albus leaned against the door when she was gone and looked at the Phoenix "What am I getting myself into Fawkes?" he asked and the bird leaned it's head sideways as he petted it, then walked to his chambers.

 **I hope you enjoyed it.**

 **Anya**


	3. Head of House

**Hello again, here's the new chapter. Enjoy.**

 **Chapter 2 - Head of House**

It was the first period on the 2nd of September and the fifth years were sitting in the Transfiguration classroom, talking loudly, apparently still trying to catch up on what happened through the past two months.

Suddenly the doors swung shut and the class went quiet. The only sound heard over the classroom was the clicking of heels as Minerva McGonagall walked towards her desk. She was dressed in deep green robes, similar to the ones she wore the night before, but not quite the same. She reached her desk and turned around to face the students with a serious expression.

"Good morning." she exclaimed "As you've been notified yesterday evening; I am your new Transfiguration teacher, Professor McGonagall.

"Seeing that I do not know most of the class, you will have to excuse me if I were to get your names wrong." she said and started walking between the tables in the room.

Gryffindors as well as Slytherins were completely quiet as the new professor continued "You are in your fifth year, which means you will be taking O.W.L. tests as the end of the school years approaches." she reached the back of the class room and turned around, looking at the students who were now turned around in their seats so they could see her.

She began to slowly walk back towards the front and kept on talking "I will prepare you for them, but you will only succeed if you work hard through both semesters. I do not tolerate indolence or anything of such sorts in my class-"

Minerva turned around, looking directly at Draco and said quickly "I do believe you are interrupting my class so this better be important, Mr..."

He stopped talking in an instant when he realised she addressed him. He quietly said "Malfoy."

She looked at him with a thoughtful expression on her face before slowly repeating "Mr Malfoy."

The silence felt as though it could burn its way through their ears. No one said anything for a few seconds.

"Well," said Minerva and raised one eyebrow "What is so important that you have to discuss it during my class, especially while I was talking?"

Silence.

"Mr Malfoy?"

Malfoy looked even paler. He looked away from the professor and shook his head and stuttered "No-nothing professor."

Minerva sighed "Do not disturb me again or I will be obligated to take pints from Slytherin is that clear Mr Malfoy?"

Draco looked at her and nodded "Yes professor, sorry professor."

Her eyes travelled back to the rest of the class and continued "As I was saying..."

But a whisper came from Draco as he said "My father will hear about this." to Goyle, who was sitting on his right, in a very quiet voice.

Turning back to him Minerva said "I sure do hope so. And make sure you tell him it was my class you were interrupting." she glared at him "And tell him I said 'Hi'." McGonagall turned away from him and walked towards the other end of the class with her final words they rang through the dead silent classroom "Five points from Slytherin."

After the first two periods passed Minerva had some free time and she headed towards the staffroom.

"Aaaah the new Transfiguration mistress." said one of the Gargoyles.

"Hhhmmm..." said the other one "But haven't I seen you before...oh yes! The little Miss McGonagall! Of course! How could I forget you?"

The first one spoke again "Oh yes I remember you, little Head Girl."

Minerva smiled "I think that would be enough." she told them the password and they let her inside.

Once she stepped into the room she saw a dark figure standing in front of the window. Nobody else was there.

"Hello Severus." she said and set the books in her hands down onto the table.

He turned around and nodded once "Minerva." he said.

She smiled and walked closer to him "It's been a long time since I've seen you. How have you been?"

Severus sat down at the table "Good." he answered "I heard you gave quite a little scare to my Slytherins this morning."

Minerva smiled, now sitting next to him "Well they were interrupting me."

Severus glanced at her and said "First period of your first day as a professor and you're already taking points."

"I gave him a warning and he didn't listen. I had to do something." she said laughing.

Severus smiled a little and said "How has your first day teaching been going?"

She sighed "Well it's only just begun, but up 'till now it's been pretty good."

"That's good," said the potions professor and looked at the clock that hung on the wall behind them "I should be going now."

He stood up and walked towards the door but turned around with his hand on the doorknob "It's nice to have you here, have a good day."

"Thank you, you too." replied Minerva as he disappeared through the door.

She grabbed the book she brought along with the ones she needed for class and started to read. The rest of the day went by quickly and soon she found herself walking up the round stairs to the headmaster's office. Once she reached the door she knocked and waited for the reply.

"Come in." called a voice from the other side of the door.

Minerva turned the doorknob and pushed the door open and quickly saw Albus standing next to Fawkes, giving him treats.

He turned his head towards the door and smiled as he saw her "Hello Minerva."

She smiled back and said "Hello."

Fawkes nibbled at his hand and Albus quickly realized he completely forgot about the treats. Minerva laughed, taking them from his hands and giving them to Fawkes, who happily took them.

"Poor Fawkes," she said as she petted the bird "Is Albus not treating you well?"

He gave a complaining hoot and she glanced at Albus, who laughed, and smiled at the bird "I'll make sure it never happens again."

Albus and Minerva made their way towards the sofa and a tea table that suddenly appeared as he waved his wand. They took their seats and Albus smiled at her "So, what brings you hear tonight?"

"Well I was hoping we could play a game of chess..." she told him and within seconds a chess board made its way through the air from a shelf.

He smiled at her and said "Finally I have a true opponent, to be honest; I was betting really bored winning all the time."

The pieces happily waved at her after not seeing her for years and she smiled at them. And the game went on for hours.

By the end they weren't even concentrated anymore. They were laughing at old memories, the chess board now lying on the table completely forgotten.

"Oh I missed Hogwarts." said Minerva smiling.

"And I believe it missed you, my dear." told her Albus, taking one more lemon drop.

Her heart skipped a beat when he called her _'my dear'_ but she mentally slapped herself back to reality.

Taking a deep breath Minerva leaned backwards onto the sofa and closed her eyes "It's nice to be spending some time with you again. It's been too long since the last time we played a game of chess together."

Albus smiled and said "I agree. So how did your first day go?"

She opened her eyes again and looked at him "Pretty good. Actually it was just as I thought it would be."

"I must say," he said with his eyes twinkling "I do look forward to hearing about your first time teaching the seventh years."

"I can handle them." she said in a slightly offended tone and set up straight again.

"Oh, I don't doubt that." laughed Albus and she raised an eyebrow "I'm just not sure _they_ can handle _you_. The last time they saw you, was probably while you were showing some of them to the Gryffindor common room or something like that and now you're their teacher."

The corners of her mouth twitched upwards a bit as she tried to remain serious "Well, they'll just have to make peace with that."

Albus was still smiling at her and he said "Just give them some time will you?"

"And why is that?" she asked as a small smiled made its way onto her lips.

"Well," started Albus and took a sip of the tea that went cold by now "Hogwarts hasn't had such a young professor in a long time-"

"Since you started teaching." she filled in.

"Yes," he smiled at the thought of his first day "As I was saying, the students haven't had such a young professor before and it might take them some time to get used to it. Especially all of those young men."

She raised an eyebrow again and asked "What are you implying Albus?"

"I'm simply saying that it wouldn't be unexpected if they were attracted to you." he told her, smiling.

"Oh, must we talk about that?" she asked and rolled her eyes.

Albus laughed again "Just give them some time to get used to a young, attractive woman teaching them."

This took her by surprise and it showed on her face "You think I'm attractive?"

The question struck Albus like a lightning on a clear day "Well...yes...of course you are."

She bit her lower lip, blushing like crazy and looked at her hand in her lap, before glancing back up again. His blue eyes were twinkling as he looked at her and it made her feel warm inside.

He cleaned his throat and looked away from her for a moment "There is one more thing I would like to discus with you tonight."

"Yes?" asked Minerva, now slightly more professional.

"Since Professor Dedworth retired another spot has been unoccupied. That is to say, would you consider being Gryffindor's Head of House?" he asked hopefully.

"Oh, really?!" she completely forgot about everything from a minute ago "I would love to!"

He smiled again "I see you're exited."

"Of course I am!" she was smiling too "This is such an honour!"

"Then it's settled. I'll announce it tomorrow at breakfast." he said and turned back to the chess board "Now shall we finish out game?"

Minerva smiled and said "Knight to D4."

 **So, I hope you enjoyed this one too.**

 **Please review.**

 **Anya**


	4. The Astronomy Tower

**Helloooooo! Welcome back, here's a new chapter.**

 **Chapter 3 - The Astronomy Tower**

Minerva woke up gasping for air. She set up in her bed and quickly looked around the room, her eyes darting over every single inch of it. Looking at the clock she saw it 3:17 in the morning.

A few minutes passed and she finally calmed down. Wanting to get a few more hour of sleep, so she lay back down and rolled to the other side, keeping her eyes shut tight. But it was no good. So she rolled onto her stomach. This wasn't good either. Turning onto her back she opened her eyes and sighed, staring at the celling.

After a few minutes she swung her feet of the bed, walked across the room and wrapped herself into a bathrobe.

She sighed and walked back to her bed where she took her wand from the nightstand and walked through her sitting room to the portrait guiding the entrance to her quarters. Her hand pushed the portrait forward and she stepped out into the dark corridor.

"Lumos." she whispered and the tip of her wand lit up. Slowly and quietly she started making her way towards the astronomy tower.

Even throught she was as quiet as possible, some paintings woke from their sleep and murmured things like _'Turn off the light.'_ or _'Some of us are trying to sleep here.'_ but she ignored them and continued walking.

It had been three weeks since Albus addressed her as Gryffindor's new Head of House. The students were quite pleased. At least she through so. No one complained or looked unpleased. They all clapped and Poppy hugged her afterwards.

She soon reached the towers stairs and started climbing them. After a couple of minutes she reached the top and walked to the fence, watching the stars. That always seemed to calm her.

"Nox." she whispered and the world went dark, the only light were the stars and the moon.

Her hands gripped the cold metal as her eyes turned themselves up towards the black sky full of stars. A few minutes passed and she stood still.

"Hello." a calm, deep voice suddenly said behind her.

She turned around so quickly she tripped over her own foot and started to fall, her hand gripping her wand to tightly she thought it might break. But before she reached the floor a pair of strong arms wrapped themselves around her waist.

Her eyes were shut tightly but the tip of her wand was pressed against the person's neck, her lips ready for a dozen curses.

"There's no need for that, my dear." gently whispered the voice. Minerva opened her eyes to see the twinkling blue ones she knew so well. For a few moments all she could do was stare at his eyes, not even moving accept dropping her hand to rest against his chest. His face was so close to hers she could feel his breath brush over her face. His warm hands at the small of her back, the sweet smell of chocolate and sherbet lemon that always followed him teasing her nose.

"Albus..." she breathed and he smiled warmly at her. It made her heart beat so much faster. She cleaned her throat and stood up straight again, taking a step back.

"You scared me." she stated.

He just smiled at her again and said "Yes, I could see that. I am deeply sorry for that, it was never my intention."

"Don't worry about it," she put her wand into the pocket of her robe and continued "I wasn't expecting company thought. If I did I would have dressed properly." she said, looking down at the red bathrobe.

Albus chuckled "Well it's almost four in the morning, so I wouldn't expect you to be in your best robes." he said and smiled warmly at her, his eyes twinkling "And anyway, I'm not dressed either."

For the first time since he came, she noticed that he was wearing a Gryffindor coloured bathrobe over his midnight blue night robes. It made his auburn hair stand out even more. She turned back around and turned her eyes up to the stars.

They stood there in silence for a few minutes before Albus whispered "If you don't mind me asking, what you are doing here at this time at night?"

"I could ask you the same thing." she replied.

"I asked first."

Minerva smiled and glanced at her hand on the fence, before looking back up to the dark sky "I couldn't sleep."

He frowned "Are you not feeling well?"

"No, no it's nothing like that. I just woke up and couldn't sleep anymore." she told him "And what are _you_ doing here?"

He smiled again "I like to come up here and watch the stars. It's more likely that no one will be here at this time." he told her.

"True."

For a few minutes they just gazed at the sky but then she yawned and he smiled at the young witch.

"You're tired." he said and she nodded "Come on my dear, let's get you to bed."

Now she shook her head, not taking her eyes away from the starry sky "I don't want to go back, I want to stay here."

Albus smiled "As you wish," he said, taking out his wand and giving it a little flick "Is this better?" he asked and she turned around to see a small, deep red sofa behind them.

Minerva smiled and nodded, taking a seat next to him. After another few minutes her head felt a lot heavier than before and she leaned it against his shoulder.

"Sorry." she whispered but didn't remove her head from his shoulder. She closed her eyes.

Albus whispered "It's quite alright Minnie."

"Minnie..." she chuckled softly.

He suddenly felt a bit alarmed "Sorry, I didn't mean to-"

She laughed softly and quietly "I like it."

"Alright than, Minnie, get some sleep." he whispered and she snuggled closer to him and breathed in deeply. Than she felt his arms around her and she smiled a second before falling asleep.

He felt her fully relax into his side and he knew she was asleep. She seemed so small in his arms, so venerable. But he knew that the moment he'd make a sudden, quick or possibly dangerous movement, her auror instinct would kick in and she'd be standing in front of him with her wand between his eyes, waiting for him to make one more move before cursing him.

So he just held her, not knowing how long before his eyelids felt heavy and he drifted off to sleep too.

The sun came out and as soon as the light hit his closed eyes, he opened them and blinked a few times. It took him a few seconds before he remembered what had happened about two hours ago and then his attention turned to the beautiful witch that was still lying safely in his arms.

It seemed that neither one of them had moved an inch.

Sunlight hit her face and she too started to stir. Minerva whimpered and turned her face into his chest to shield her eyes from the bright morning sun.

Albus chuckled at her reaction, causing her to groan and lightly hit his chest with her fist "Stop. You know I'm not a morning person."

"I'm sorry, my dear." he said with a smile on his face.

She took a deep breath and continued "I can hear you smiling."

This made him laugh and she looked up with a grumpy look on her face "It. Not. Funny." she said in between small punches, which only made him laugh harder.

Minerva straightened up and crossed her arms over her chest, looking at the sunrise.

Albus smiled at her and said "I'm sorry."

She looked at him from the corner of her eye, thinking, and then turned to him "It's okay."

He smiled and stood up, offering her his hand "We should go get ready for breakfast."

She nodded and took his hand and stood up.

Together they walked towards the door, the sofa disappearing behind them and they made their way down the stairs.

"Mind if I accompany you to your quarters?"

"Of course not." she replied gently.

The two of them walked in silence to the portrait guiding her quarters. She turned around and smiled at him.

"Thank you for the company Albus," she said "And for accompanying me here."

He smiled and said "It was my pleasure." before taking her hand in his and placing a soft, gentlemanly kiss at the back.

Minerva blushed and turned around, whispering the password to the portrait and it swung open. She turned around one last time saying "See you at breakfast."

He smiled and nodded as she disappeared through the hole and closed it back up. Then he turned around and started walking towards his own quarters.

As soon as the portrait swung closed she leaned her back against it and released the breath she didn't know she was holding and slid to the floor with a wide smile on her face.

 **Thank you for reading, stick around.**

 **Anya**


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